BOSTON – Newport-based American Shipyard Co. LLC, which does business as Newport Shipyard, has been fined $31,000 in a Clean Air Act settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Under the settlement, Newport Shipyard, which repairs and paints vessels, will pay $31,000 and obtain a Clean Air Act permit from the state of Rhode Island that caps the facility’s emissions of volatile organic compounds.

The Rhode Island Permit also requires the use of paints and other coatings that meet low-VOC standards. The company will have to comply with “applicable record keeping and certification requirements,” according to a release from the New England regional EPA office in Boston.

The EPA release states that the paint used by Newport Shipyard emitted “excess levels of VOCs.” These pollutants can cause health problems and, according to the EPA, contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, a primary constituent of smog.

Under its permit, Newport Shipyard will switch to low-VOC solvents and paints that comply with EPA regulatory limits. The company also will use paint spray guns with high transfer efficiencies, implement best work practices to minimize VOC emissions from painting and cleanup, and implement the required record keeping and reporting.

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